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Princes of the Universe
| released = 12 March 1986 (US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) 6 October 1986 (Japan) | format = Vinyl record (7") | recorded = 1985 – 1986 | studio = | venue = | genre = }} | length = 3:32 | label = Capitol, EMI | writer = Freddie Mercury | producer = Queen and Reinhold Mack | prev_title = A Kind of Magic | prev_year = 1986 | next_title = One Year of Love | next_year = 1986 }} "Princes of the Universe" is a song written by Freddie Mercury and performed by the British rock band Queen. The song was written for the soundtrack of the movie Highlander, and released on the album A Kind of Magic, which also featured other selections from the Highlander song score, in 1986.Freestone, Peter (2001) Freddie Mercury: an intimate memoir by the man who knew him best p.96.Omnibus Press, Retrieved 22 January 2011 In terms of musical style, the song is notable for being one of the most hard-edged tracks performed by the band, featuring a bombastic sound reminiscent of contemporary hard rock and heavy metal and vocals by Mercury akin to opera. A music video for the song, which featured Mercury sword-fighting, achieved some notoriety. Song Info|last=Guarisco|first=Donald A.|website=AllMusic|access-date=January 10, 2019}} Background "Princes of the Universe," written and composed for Highlander, is the only song on the album for which Mercury receives sole credit. The song's name comes from the original working title of the film. It is played over the film's opening credits, and was later used as the opening theme for Highlander: The Series.''Bartkowiak, Mathew J. (2010) Sounds of the Future: Essays on Music in Science Fiction Film p.19. Retrieved 22 January 2011 The song was never released as a single in the United Kingdom, and while it never truly charted, it is considered a cult favourite because of its relation to the film. In the movie, the guitar solo in the beginning is deleted. The lyrics are from the perspective of the immortals, about the state of being immortal, the superiority it gives them to normal humans, and the test that they always have to face because of this. Some of the lyrics can be interpreted as regarding Queen themselves, and Freddie Mercury himself in particular: "People talk about you, people say you've had your day / I'm a man that will go far, find the moon and reach for the stars." The song "Who Wants to Live Forever," which also features in the film, is the foil of this song.Who Wants To Live Forever UltimateQueen.co.uk Music video The music video was directed by Russell Mulcahy, and was shot on 14 February 1986 at Elstree Studios, London, on the Silvercup rooftop stage used for the film. It consists mostly of Queen performing the song, intercut with scenes from ''Highlander. Christopher Lambert reprises his role as Connor MacLeod for a brief appearance in the video, where he swordfights Freddie Mercury, who uses his microphone stand as a sword. Brian May is seen playing a Washburn RR11V instead of his Red Special. Although the single did not chart in the US, the video was regularly played on MTV. Before its release on Greatest Flix III (VHS, 1999) and Greatest Video Hits 2 (DVD, 2003), it was rarely seen outside of North America. Personnel *Freddie Mercury – lead and backing vocals, synthesizer *Brian May – lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals *Roger Taylor – drums, backing vocals *John Deacon – bass guitar See also *1986 in music *Queen discography References External links *Official YouTube videos: music video, music video (VEVO) *Lyrics at Queen official website Category:Queen (band) songs Category:1986 singles Category:Theme music Category:Songs from Highlander (franchise) Category:Songs written by Freddie Mercury Category:Song recordings produced by Reinhold Mack Category:Music videos directed by Russell Mulcahy Category:EMI Records singles Category:Capitol Records singles Category:Hollywood Records singles Category:British hard rock songs Category:British heavy metal songs